Virginia Research Colleges Could Face ‘Devastating’ Fallout from Trump's Fed Cuts; Bogus Presser?; Target Boycott Nears End ‘I’m Done for Good’

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Was This Presser on March 27, 2025 in Manassas Bogus?

On March 27, 2025 at the FBI Field Office in Manassas, Gov. Glenn Youngkin stood alongside Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel and announced the arrest of an individual in Woodbridge that Gov. Youngkin claimed was, “one of the top leaders of MS-13, living here.”

It is now being reported that the federal government has moved to drop their case against Henrry Villatoro Santos, 24. After the fanfare on March 27, the story is changing…

Below: Politico this morning:

Deborah Altenburg is the Vice President for Research Policy and Advocacy at the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. She presented on Feb. 8, 2025 to the Virginia House’s Emergency Committee on the Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions. Altenburg’s presentation on how federal spending cuts will impact colleges’s in Virginia was one of the most informative presentations of the day.

Virginia Research Colleges Could Face ‘Devastating’ Consequences from Federal Cuts, Experts Say

By Nathaniel Cline for Virginia Mercury 🎓 Research colleges and universities in Virginia are at risk of taking significant cuts, state lawmakers in the House of Delegates and education experts revealed Tuesday, as the country’s executive branch continues to trim down operations and funding in the federal government.

According to data collected by the National Center for Science and Engineering, Virginia ranks 13th in the nation in research and development (R&D) performance.

“R&D is important to Virginia, and changes in federal R&D funding and policies will have ripple effects on your entire state and the Virginia Public and Land Grant Universities,” Deborah Altenburg, vice president of research policy and advocacy at the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU), said to lawmakers on Tuesday in Alexandria.

Altenburg said every member institution of APLU has had at least one grant canceled or delayed and “there’s really no clarity at this point or way to gauge what the full cost of those cuts will be.”

The funding institutions receive for their facilities and administrative costs could also be capped under the changes, which would be “devastating” to the university-based research structure, since it’s the “major driver for our U.S. economy,” she said.

The changes for research institutions come as lawmakers prepare for the wider impacts on Virginia’s federal workforce and funding reductions, following executive actions taken by President Donald Trump‘s administration since taking office in January to cut what they have called “wasteful” government spending.

Above: Virginia House’s Emergency Committee on the Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions meeting in Alexandria on April 8, 2025.

Above: A social media post on April 8 by Del. Briana Sewell provides more data.

So far, the number of available private-sector jobs has declined, and contracts have been canceled in Northern Virginia, InsideNOVA reports. The state’s community colleges have also ended DEI admission policies, in light of federal mandates snuffing out diversity, equity and inclusion practices, while the Trump administration has threatened to yank federal funding from schools that don’t end race-based admissions policies.

In response to the federal workforce and funding reductions, the Virginia House of Delegates, directed by House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, developed a committee to focus solely on how the changes affect Virginians.

The committee is responsible for collecting data on the potential scope of workforce and funding cuts, and analyzing the likely impacts of the cuts on Virginia’s economy and budget should they be partially or fully realized, according to the speaker’s letter. READ ENTIRE

Target Boycott Nears End: ‘I’m Done for Good’

By Stacy Brown for Black Press USA. The Target Fast also includes demands such as restoring diversity initiatives, honoring a $2 billion pledge to Black businesses, investing in HBCUs, and depositing $250 million into Black-owned banks.

Above: Pastor Jamal Bryant

As the 40-day “Target Fast” draws to a close on Easter Sunday, thousands of Black Americans say the protest has sparked a permanent change in their spending habits—and in their view of corporate accountability. “I’ve been off of Target the last few weeks,” said Wayne Shepherd of Fort Greene, New York. “Planning on making it a forever thing until I see real change. Same with Walmart, Amazon, etc.”

The boycott, organized by faith leaders including Atlanta-based Pastor Jamal Bryant, began March 5 and is meant to protest Target’s decision to scale back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. While framed as a spiritual fast during Lent, many participants say the economic stand has evolved into something much more significant. “Haven’t stepped in a Target since their rollback and don’t intend to,” said Hayden Towns of St. Louis, Missouri. “Also avoiding Walmart, canceled all of my Amazon subscriptions, and weaning myself off of all Zuckerberg apps.” READ ENTIRE

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